Over 3 Million Workers Earn Less Than Minimum Wage

10 March, 2021
Over 3 Million Workers Earn Less Than Minimum Wage
Some 3.19 million personnel in Korea earn less than the minimum wage, the second-highest number on record.

The Korea Employers Federation said Monday that 3.19 million persons made significantly less than the minimum wage last year, accounting for 15.6 percent of the full total workforce.

The KEF said the number was less than the all-time record in 2019 of 3.39 million workers, when the federal government substantially hiked the minimum wage.

The KEF added that the trend "demonstrates that the labor market struggles to bear the sharp upsurge in the minimum amount wage." The cumulative hike in the minimum amount wage from 2018 to 2020 was 32.8 percent, and it currently stands at W8,590 each hour (US$1=W1,136).

Virtually all were underpaid by smaller businesses, which say they can not afford the minimum amount wage amid dire economical circumstances.

Out of 3.64 million staff in businesses employing less than five people, 36.3 percent earned less than the minimum wage.

By sector, 51.3 percent of employees in the agriculture and fisheries industry produced significantly less than the minimum wage, and 42.6 percent in the hospitality sector.

Im Young-tae at the KEF said, "The financial slump has made various smaller businesses unable to pay their employees. We need to apply minimum-wage guidelines flexibly and modest the sharp upsurge in the minimum wage."
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